A no-deal Brexit could see charter planes used to fly in drugs to prop up the NHS and medicines given priority access through gridlocked ports, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.
The minister also revealed the government was consulting on plans for chemists to ration medication so that patients can retain access to vital treatments in the event of shortages caused by the UK’s withdrawal.
His remarks come as embattled prime minister Theresa May was criticised by backbench Tory rebels and the DUP over her “desperate” comprise efforts to attract support for her beleaguered deal.
Follow the latest on the day’s Brexit developments below:
Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the day's Brexit events.
Health secretary Matt Hancock leads the news this morning by admitting that drug rationing and the possibility of medicines being flown in to the UK by charter flight to bolster the NHS could happen in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
He defended the government's preparations for a no-deal outcome but stressed that the potential problems were a reason to back Theresa May's plan in the crunch December 11 vote.
The Times reported that a consultation launched by the Department for Health and Social Care called for rapid changes to medicine rules to "support the continuity of supply of medicines in a 'no-deal' scenario".
The government wants to enable ministers to issue a "serious shortage protocol" for pharmacies to follow, the newspaper said.
It "could be issued in case of a serious national shortage and would enable community pharmacists and other dispensers to dispense in accordance with the protocol rather than the prescription without contacting the GP".
Ministers would order pharmacists to dispense a "reduced quantity" of the medicine, an "alternative dosage form", a "therapeutic equivalent" or a "generic equivalent".
Here's The Independent's health correspondent Alex Matthews-King with the full story:
Chemists to get emergency powers to change prescriptions and prevent drug shortages if there is a no-deal Brexi
Doctors groups concerned about prescriptions being changed without GP input and lack of time to consider impacts of contingenciesMeanwhile, the DUP and Tory rebels have poured cold water over a “desperate” compromise bid to win over MPs to Theresa May’s Brexit deal, ahead of a Commons showdown that threatens her leadership and her government.
Backbench Tories tabled an amendment to next week’s meaningful vote that would give MPs some control over the Irish backstop, a controversial insurance policy which aims to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Under the plans – which are said to be sanctioned by Downing Street – parliament would decide whether to trigger the backstop arrangement or extend the transition period beyond December 2020.
The Independent's political correspondent Lizzy Buchan has more on the developing rift:
DUP and Tory rebels derail Theresa May's 'desperate' attempt to get MPs to vote for her Brexit deal
Ms May has faced calls to postpone Tuesday's vote over fears of a catastrophic Commons defeatBoris Johnson has meanwhile come forward to denounce Theresa May's Brexit deal as similar to the conditions that might be imposed on the losing side after a war.
Writing on Facebook, Mr Johnson said that the backstop "hands the EU the indefinite power to bully and blackmail this country to get whatever it wants in the future negotiations", because it denies the UK the power to leave without agreement from Brussels.
Predicting that France will use this advantage to "plunder" UK fishing waters, Spain will "make another push for Gibraltar" and Germany will demand concessions on migration, the former foreign secretary said: "It is quite incredible that any government could agree to such terms.
"They resemble the kind of diktat that might be imposed on a nation that has suffered a military defeat."
In further bad news for Ms May, a new Ipsos Mori poll has found that almost two-thirds of voters (62 per cent) think it would be a bad thing for the UK to leave the EU under the terms she has secured from Brussels.
Four days before MPs pass judgment on the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement in a House of Commons vote on 11 December, just 25 per cent of those questioned said Ms May's deal was a good thing.
The poll for The Evening Standard showed no consensus over what path the government should take if the vote is lost on Tuesday.
Among those questioned, 20 per cent would support a second referendum pitting Leave against Remain and the same proportion said the UK should quit the EU with no deal.
Some 19 per cent said the government should seek better terms from the EU, 11 per cent that Brexit should be scrapped without a referendum, 10 per cent wanted a referendum on Ms May's deal alone and 10 per cent a general election.
Almost half (47 per cent) of Conservative supporters said leaving under Mrs May's deal would be a bad outcome for the UK.
However, 50 per cent of all those questioned said Ms May should stay on as PM if her plan is voted down, compared with 43 per cent who thought she should stand down.
Despite some reports this morning suggesting Theresa May was considering postponing Tuesday's crunch vote on Brexit in the Commons in order to avoid a crushing landslide defeat, the PM's spokesman has confirmed the ballot of ministers will go ahead as scheduled.
Here's Andrew Grice for Indy Voices on the current atmosphere in Westminster:
'The atmosphere at Westminster feels just like it did before the fall of Thatcher in 1990'
Europe felled the last three Tory prime ministers – Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. It could soon bring down May, her career killed by Cameron’s poisonous legacyThe exodus of senior figures from Ukip continues in the week when the party lost Nigel Farage, the man who became the poster boy for Brexit in 2016, over opposition to leader Gerard Batten's decision to appoint far-right activist Tommy Robinson as an adviser.
Former leader Paul Nuttall and Scottish leader David Coburn are the latest to head for the door.
Exodus from Ukip continues as more senior figures quit over Tommy Robinson links
Appointment of far-right activist has caused divisions in the party
The Indy's Europe Correspondent Jon Stone on an interesting geographical correlation...
Lizzy Buchan here on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has suggested a second referendum could well follow the defeat of Theresa May's "worst of all worlds" deal.
Jeremy Corbyn suggests second referendum could follow defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal
'If under the current rules we cannot get an election, all options must be on the table'Corbyn's comments come as his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, rejected a warning by Unite leader Len McCluskey that remain-backing Labour members would regard the party's support for a final say as a betrayal.
Asked during a visit to Glasgow this morning whether he agreed with Mr McCluskey, Mr McDonnell said simply: “No.”
If there were to be a second referendum, it was “inevitable” the choice for voters would be remain versus Theresa May’s deal, the shadow chancellor said, adding: “And if it was, I would vote remain.”
"My speech yesterday [in the House of Commons] was a sincere attempt to try and bring all parties together to try and agree a Brexit which will protect jobs and the economy," he continued.
“If we can’t get that, we need a general election because we can then change the team that will then do the negotiations. If we can’t do that, well, I think people will recognise we have no other option but to consider another public vote and people will respect us for doing our best to implement the spirit of the referendum.
“We’ve got to resolve this issue. We can’t go on like this.”
Amen to that.
Here's Matt Hancock again, elaborating on his comments this morning about Britain's post-Brexit healthcare prospects.
Over in the DUP camp, deputy leader Nigel Dodds has welcomed the government’s minister for the cabinet office, David Lidington, to Northern Ireland but said ministers need to be using their time to correct "fatal flaws" in the Withdrawal Agreement.
"Rather than a roadshow selling the fundamentally flawed Withdrawal Agreement, I would prefer the Government would listen to MPs all on sides of the House Commons and finally acknowledge the backstop is dangerous for Northern Ireland and the entire United Kingdom.
"The Withdrawal Agreement is an international legally binding Treaty which would place a customs and regulatory border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain contrary to the direct pledges of the Prime Minister. It leaves the entire United Kingdom trapped in the backstop arrangements until the EU decides to release us. These are not just my observations but also the view of the Government’s Attorney General as stated in his recently published legal advice to Cabinet."
"I understand why businesses want certainty about the future trading relationship with the EU but this is not the best of both worlds for Northern Ireland. Even the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had to admit the backstop is a bad arrangement for the economy and the Union. And the Prime Minister herself now says no one likes it!"
"I want to see a sensible deal and we can get one. This is not a binary choice between this Withdrawal Agreement and no deal. It is time for the Government to recognise the genuine opposition to this Withdrawal Agreement and seek fundamental change by getting rid of the backstop. With London, Dublin and Brussels all stating categorically that they will not build a hard border in any circumstances, there is no need for this backstop arrangement.”
Brexit has turned the country's politicians into Roald Dahl's Mr and Mrs Twit, says The Indy's sketch writer Tom Peck:
Brexit has turned the country's politicians into Mr and Mrs Twit, and we're all about to get the shrinks
A random member of the public turned up in the House of Commons claiming to be the Brexit Secretary, then things went downhillBoris Johnson's war analogy earlier has seen him come under fire (appropriately), with Layla Moran of the Liberal Democrats branding him a "deserter".
"If he really wanted to avoid this utter humiliation, he'd back the only sensible way to break the Brexit deadlock in Parliament. That means supporting the people having a final say with the option to keep the benefits of EU membership," she said.
"That would be the real victory for Britain."
Just two parliamentary constituencies back the PM's Brexit deal, a YouGov survey has found
Theresa May's Brexit deal preferred by only two British constituencies, poll shows
PM has stepped up efforts to sell her deal, ahead of the crunch Commons voteBack in Northern Ireland, David Lidington has insisted the government's confidence and supply agreement with the DUP is not in danger despite party leader Arlene Foster breaking ranks over the Irish border backstop.
"As with any minority government there are going to be squalls and difficulties in a Parliament where the government does not have an automatic majority in either House, but that is not something new to British history," he said.
Mr Lidington also pointed out that MPs have a public duty to act in the national interest.
"The choices are not going to go away as a consequence of postponing the vote.
"The European Commission, the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany, other leaders, have all said, very plainly, this is the deal that is available.
"They on the EU side have made concessions to get here, both sides have moved.
"And Michel Barnier, the EU's negotiator, has had a lot of flak from Governments in Paris, the Hague and other capitals, for making too many moves to help the UK, as they see it.
"So they are not going to move, so the choice becomes if not this deal, what else?
"No other deal is available, therefore it is either crash out, which would do serious damage to businesses large and small, or it is reverse the decision and decide to stay in the European Union after all, which would, I think, come as a heavy blow to very many millions who voted to leave two years ago."
Britain should use risk of food shortages in Ireland to get better Brexit deal, says Priti Patel.
Indy Political Correspondent Ben Kentish on remarks by the Tories' former international development secretary being branded "morally reprehensible".
Britain should use risk of food shortages in Ireland to get better Brexit deal, says Priti Patel
Former cabinet minister criticised over 'morally reprehensible' claimsPlease allow a moment for our liveblog to load
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